Khamzat Chimaev will not be punished by the UFC despite missing weight for his ill-fated fight with Nate Diaz.
Chimaev had agreed to touch gloves with UFC veteran Diaz at UFC 279 tonight at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. However, having already sparked a huge brawl which saw a press conference cancelled, Chimaev caused further havoc to the event after tipping the scales at 178.5lb, missing the 171lb limit by 7.5lb.
The Chechen star seemed unconcerned when he walked to the scales and smiled despite a poor reception from the crowd, before claiming his weight was "not bad" despite being a distance from his target weight. Despite his actions, the UFC have elected not to take disciplinary action against the rising star, who has now been found a replacement opponent in Kevin Holland.
Chimaev has escaped any fine after being advised to stop cutting weight following advice from medical staff, before successfully making a 180lb catchweight for his fresh outing against Holland. Diaz was unhappy with his rival's antics but he will remain on course to see out his UFC contract as he takes on replacement Tony Ferguson in the new main event.
Two fighters on the card did face a fine after missing weight including heavyweight Chris Barnett who will be fined 20 per cent of his purse after missing weight for his outing against Jake Collier. Featherweight star Hakeem Dawodu also tipped the scales above the limit for his bout with Julian Erosa and will be fined 30 per cent of his earnings.
Chimaev will still fight on the night despite missing his target weight, which left fans unhappy that they would no longer see the main event between himself and Diaz. UFC president Dana White revealed that Chimaev was suffering with cramp which caused him to send in a doctor for checks. "If you saw him yesterday, he was very lean already and he should have come in on weight," White said.
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"He started to cut weight and he started locking up and cramping and all the things that are from a bad cut. Unlike 10 years ago, we send in a doctor and they determine whether he will keep cutting weight and the doctor told him he shouldn't."
Diaz was expecting to meet Chimaev but he will now take on Ferguson as he looks to take to the octagon for the final time in his lengthy career. And the UFC veteran admitted he gave up training as he closes in on finally ending his time with the promotion. "I just f***ing gave up on preparing," he said. "Whatever. Beat me. I think that I've been stuck in the cage for a long time and I need to do what I have to do to get the f*** out."
